A Useful Trailer for House Refuse.
Page 22
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IT IS somewhat surprising that greater use has not already been made of the trailer as an adjunct to the refuse-collecting wagon. In many cities and towns considerable time is wasted in running to and from the dump, and if bigger loads could successfully be dealt with, and without unduly stressing the motive unit, efficiency would thereby be gained and the number of journeys, which really constitutes wasted time, considerably reduced.
In this connection, Sheffield Steel Products, Ltd., of Templeborough Works, Tinsley, near Sheffield, have developed their well-known H.B. patent type trailer into a satisfactory form of vehicle for the handling of house refuse. For this purpose it is provided with an all-steel body having steel covers riveted on steel frames, the three on each side being separately operated by suitable levers. The back door is made in halves which fall back against the sides when open and are held in this position by spring catches. When closed they are secured by a single locking bar which holds both doors at the top and bottom as the result of a single movement. The doors are steel edged and braced by steel sections.
The loading height from the ground to the upper edges of the sides is 4 ft. 8 ins., and reference to our illustration will show that this is somewhat below that of the electric vehicle which, in this instance, is towing the trailer and which belongs to the cleansing department of the Sheffield Corporation.
The trailer is of the two-wheeled type with a Siemens acid-steel axle, pressed. steel disc wheels running on British Bock taper roller bearings and semielliptic springs the ends of which are provided with lubricated slippers.
Expanding shoes with. wide faces and bonded asbestos friction material work in pressed-steel drums efficiently protected from mud. They can be controlled by a lever on the off side. A telescopic drawbar with tilting arms forms the essence of the tipping mechanism, to operate which the trailer brake is applied, a locking clip released and the motive unit reversed, which telescopes the drawbar and tips the body backwards to an angle of 45 degrees, the return being effected by a forward movement of the towing vehicle. A caster wheel, with a 10-in. by 3-in, solid rubber tyre, running on double Bock bearings, gives extreme ease of manceuvring when uncoupled. This wheel is raised or lowered by a vertical steel screw. The main dimensions of this H.B. trailer are :—Capacity, 8 cubic yards ; inside length, 9 ft. 6 ins.; inside width, 7 ft.; width of covers, 3 ft.; overall height, 7 ft. 6 ins.